Drip irrigation ensures a better crop for farmers in Nepalcdn1.practicalaction.org/a/n/4d927c81-24bc-482f-ba69-11792e33baf9.pdf · Chambamontera The community ... scheme capable of

Annual Highlights2008

Drip irrigation ensures a better crop for farmers in Nepal

Prac

tica

lA

ctio

n/R

akes

hK

C

1Practical Action | Annual Highlights 2008

Technology challenging povertyMore than three-quarters of a million people have directly benefited fromPractical Action’s project work this year and many more have been helpedindirectly through changes in national or local policy brought about by ourinfluencing work. Although it has been a year of political and social upheavalin many areas where we are working, Practical Action’s work has continued toimprove the lives of poor people in communities over 13 different countries.

Our programme of work is focused in four areas – coping with environmentand conflict, making markets work for poor people, getting a decent serviceand closing the technology gap. This review provides a snapshot of some ofour 141 projects worldwide and of the technologies we are developing whichhelp people to find a path out of poverty.

Our successes this year include: l Winning 3 international awards – the 2007 Ryutaro Hashimoto Gold Award

from the Asia-Pacific Forum for Environment and Development, the UnitedNations Environment Programme’s Sasakawa Prize, and an Ashden Awardfor Sustainable Energy

l Certificates acknowledging their contribution to the award of the NobelPeace Prize to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change wereawarded to 2 staff members

l 20 books published and 37,000 sold or distributedl 74 consultancy contracts completed in 35 countriesl 3,500 technical enquiries answeredl 3,000 UK schools influenced on sustainable design curriculum.

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters we are able to continue to supportcommunities in their struggle against poverty in an increasingly unequalworld. With your help we can transform lives in a sustainable way byproviding access to those technologies and skills that enable people to takecontrol of their own future.

Simon TraceChief Executive

2 Practical Action | Annual Highlights 2008

Small scale milk production is acommon farming option inBangladesh. Milk has a very shortshelf life, especially in a hotclimate, which makes qualitycontrol and up to date informationabout markets vital.

Practical Action has been workingwith 30,000 small scale dairyfarmers in the Dinajpur region ofBangladesh, to improve both thequantity and quality of milk

production. Small producer groupswere formed to enable farmers toestablish better collection systemsand to make links with financialinstitutions to secure investment inequipment and marketing. Inaddition the training of paravets hasgiven the group access to better localanimal health services.

As a result, producers have developedmore reliable relationships with thebuyers of their milk.

Cold milk for hot profits

Prac

tica

lA

ctio

n/T

utul

Trained paravets help to improve animal health


Shapna, from Khanpur, has beenselling milk from her two cows forthe past three years. She recentlyjoined a milk producers’ groupbecause she was keen to increasemilk production. The informationand services she gained from thisgroup have helped her to improvethe nutrition and healthcare of hercows to an extent that her milkyields increased by 60%.

Collectively the group negotiated a30% increase in the price per litre.This increased income will allowShapna to educate her daughters.

Practical Action’s success inimproving markets has beenrecognised in Bangladesh, andPKSF, a large provider of micro-finance, have now adopted thesetechniques in their work with210,000 small farmers in thecountry. So Practical Action hashad a much greater impactthrough passing on knowledgeand experience to others.

Dairy farmers in Bangladesh share knowledge for increasing milk yields

PracticalA

ction/Tutul


Organic rice cultivationPractical Action continues to providelong term support for people whoselivelihoods were affected by the 2004tsunami. As rice is the staple food inSri Lanka, with half of theagricultural labour force involved inhigh input paddy cultivation, wehave been working with farmingcommunities to improve both thequality and yields of this crop.

There are a number of benefits forsmall farmers in using organicproduction methods. Firstly, yieldsare often higher under the marginal

conditions in which many poorfarmers work. Secondly, the cost ofinputs, such as fertiliser, isconsiderably lower, meaningfarmers are less likely to incur debt.In addition farmers obtain a higherprice for organically grown rice.

Although the development oforganic rice was originally plannedas a niche market crop, yields havebeen high enough for it now to be promoted as a viable main crop alternative.

Organic rice has proved a viable alternative for poor farmers in Sri Lanka

Prac

tica

lA

ctio

n/Z

ul


Community forestsIn the Majdoub area of Darfur,Sudan, overgrazing anddesertification have caused manynative trees to disappear altogetherfrom the countryside. This makesthe collection of fodder for animalsand firewood for cookingincreasingly difficult. In additionthe tree species ‘Coltropis Procera’which is toxic to animals, hasbecome dominant. This is a majorproblem for a community whoselivelihoods depend on raising cropsand rearing animals.

Working with the localcommunity, Practical Action hasplanted a five-acre plot with morethan 3,700 seedlings of native tree

varieties. The area has been fencedto protect it from animals and thesaplings are tended by members ofthe community.

When they have grown sufficientlyfor transplanting they will becomepart of a community forest,managed by a committee of localpeople. Members of the committeehave been trained in tree husbandryto ensure that the project has longterm benefits. Not only will thetrees provide fodder and buildingmaterial in the future, but they willalso help to prevent soil erosion,thereby improving the environmentfor the future.

Sudan’s harsh climate means that plants have to be carefully nurtured to survive

PracticalA

ction/Moham

med

Majzoub

Clean water and toilets greatly improve living conditions in Nairobi slums


Putting people first In the next two decades a largepercentage of the world’spopulation growth will take placein the cities of the developingworld, creating more than twobillion slum dwellers. In Mukuru,a slum area outside Nairobi inKenya, Practical Action is helpingcommunities to improve theirliving conditions.

Families in Mukuru, a settlementof 400,000 people, lack access tosafe water and often pay up toseven times more for their waterthan middle class families inNairobi. Women and children aredisproportionately affected with

Prac

tica

lA

ctio

n/K

aren

Rob

inso

n

women spending hours each daytravelling to, and queuing at, waterpoints. In local schools one basicpit latrine serves 250 children andthere is no water supply.

Practical Action forged apartnership between the localcommunity and the City Water &Sewerage Company. This has led to recognition that informalsettlements have a legitimate claimto water services and, as a result,the Company has installed meteredconnections along the fringes ofthe area, where water sellers andindividuals can obtain water to sellto others.

7

Dennis Rutto is 20 years oldand lives with his parents inMukuru. He is a member of thenewly formed ‘Lunga LungaYouth Talent Exploiters’, a self-help group, (supported by theproject) which runs smallbusinesses across Mukuru,including a laundry in Centre village. Dennis speaksof how the project is making adifference in Mukuru:

“As youths, it is good to beengaged in business and I feelpride in helping local familieslive better lives. Since weshowed an interest indeveloping a water enterprise,we have been supported byNairobi Water Company andPractical Action. We areamong the seven groups in thevillage that have been allocatedwater storage tanks from theCompany and construction ofour water point will be startingsoon. With these points, I knowthat people won’t have to travelso far from their homes and,because of the size of the watertanks, will be able to drinkclean water even when thepipes dry up.”

Practical Action | Annual Highlights 2008

The development of business skillswithin the community, togetherwith access to appropriatetechnologies and credit, drives anincrease in income. People arethen able to invest in improvedhousing. Increased numbersbenefit from improved serviceswhen they are provided by a localbusiness – for example wastecollection and recycling or waterpoints – setting up a virtuous circleof benefits.

A new water point and storagefacility in Mukuru

PracticalA

ctionK

enya


Access to land reaps rich rewards

In Nepal, Practical Action isworking with some of the poorestand most vulnerable communities,including dalits (so-called‘untouchables’, the lowest rank ofthe Hindu caste system), who aretraditionally landless and live inabsolute poverty.

Raghu Raj Chaudhari lives with hiswife and three children in Badariyain the Kailali district of South-westNepal. With no land of his own,he worked as a daily labourer buthis income was barely enough tofeed his family, his childrenstopped attending school and heoften had to borrow money.

Raghu describes how his lifehas changed. “I have beenworking on farms for the last16 years but never had theopportunity to learn newmethods of cultivation,” hesays. “With the training I cannow grow both seasonal andout of season vegetables,raise nurseries and harvestvegetables at the right time.”

With Practical Action’s help afarmers’ group of landless labourerswas formed. Between them thisgroup leased 24 kaththas (8,000 sqmetres) of land and undertooktraining on improved methods ofvegetable cultivation. They were alsoprovided with seeds, fertilisers, spraytanks and a deep bore for irrigation.

Farmers work together to install atreadle pump to irrigate their crops

Prac

tica

lA

ctio

n/M

atri

kaSh

arm

a

He now reaps three harvests a yearand makes a good income. He haspurchased a water buffalo, replacedhis rice straw roof with galvanisedroofing sheets, re-admitted hischildren to school and no longerneeds to borrow money.

A family plant seedlings which will grow to provide them with a better income

PracticalA

ction/SujanaU

padhyay


Renewable energy forChambamontera

The community contributed bothlabour and materials to the schemeand an association has been formedto allow them to access credit to payfor the installation.

60 families in the area will soonhave life-changing access to energyto light their homes, school andhealth centre. Several new businessesare planned which will generate theincome to transform the lives of thepeople of Chambamontera.

Chambamontera is an isolatedcommunity in the highlands of theCajamarca area of Peru. It is morethan two hours drive from Jaén, thenearest town. Livelihoods in thearea are mainly dependent ongrowing coffee and rearing livestock.Development is severely restrictedby lack of access to energy.

By harnessing the power of water,hundreds of poor women, men andchildren will be able to enjoy thebenefits of access to electricity for thevery first time. Given the relativelyhigh cost and low priority of ruralelectrification, Chambamonterawould most likely have continued to be without modern energy formany generations.

At the start of the project PracticalAction held consultation meetingswith the community to develop ascheme capable of producing 15 kWof power. The benefits of micro-hydro schemes for isolatedcommunities are significant. Theenergy is renewable and ‘fuel-free’,the system has a long lifetime,typically 25 years or more, and bothmaintenance requirements andrunning costs are low.

The community of Chambamonteraare closely involved in the project

PracticalA

ction/Oliver

Marcelo

Micro-hydro provides a range of benefits including street lighting

PracticalA

ction/StevenH

unt


Spreading the wordDisseminating information amongstpeople in remote locations is achallenge in rural Africa. Moderncommunication devices such astelevisions, radios and mobilephones require both power and afunctioning signal, both of whichare scarce and expensive for isolatedfarming communities. Solar panelsare still usually too costly.

Practical Action has been workingwith the developer of a new devicecalled ‘SecondVoice’ to makecommunications both easier andcheaper. This small digital devicecarries voice recordings and podcastsand is intended for regions wherethere is little access either to the

internet or to mobile phonenetworks. When two people withthe devices are in close proximity,recordings are transferredautomatically using Bluetoothtechnology. It can be used tocirculate information onagricultural prices or give advice onthe improvement of crop yields orways of treating livestock disease.Thus a simple message can bespread to a large number of villagesand individual farmers. The devicesare solar powered but still only costa few pounds to manufacture.

The devices were trialled last yearand following modifications furthertesting will now take place.

Testing the ‘Second Voice’ device in Zimbabwe

Prac

tica

lA

ctio

n/La

wre

nce

Gud

za

Practical Action Consulting hasbegun a five-year research programmeto provide information onapproaches that can be applied bygovernments to develop the role ofbio energy in delivering energy accessfor the poor in Tanzania, Kenya, Indiaand Sri Lanka. The UK Departmentfor International Development isfunding this research, which is beingconducted by a consortium whichincludes the universities of Edinburghand Dar es Salaam.

Currently 2.5 billion people still relyon bio energy in the form of firewoodfor their basic energy needs.Meanwhile there is expanding globalinterest and activity in the growing of

energy crops for biofuels. Whileincreased cultivation of energy cropscould provide energy for the poor,without appropriate policies in place itcould easily pass them by or damagetheir livelihoods and food supplies.

Bio energy has the potential toincrease global energy supplieswithout increasing carbon emissions,but at the local level it can absorbvital water supplies and the fertileland needed to cultivate food.However, with the role of bio energyalready crucial for the poor and thelikelihood that it will play a part inthe future for all of us, the questionsand outcomes of this project are likelyto be of significant interest.

Energy research

2.5 billion people still rely on firewood for energy

Practical Action | Annual Highlights 2008 13

PracticalA

ction/Crispin H

ughes


Prac

tica

lA

ctio

nEd

ucat

ion

Working for a sustainable future foreveryone, wherever they live in theworld, is our shared goal at PracticalAction. We cannot continue to liveas if resources are infinite. TheEducation team has worked formany years on resources that helpteachers and students to understandthat our choices as consumers,designers and manufacturers arevital factors in achieving asustainable future.

Our latest resource, TheSustainability Handbook, hasenabled us to take a major steptowards influencing huge numbersof teachers and students. Potentiallyover one million students in England

This handbook enables youngpeople to see that we live in aninter-dependent world where theirroles have a global as well as alocal dimension.

The Sustainability Handbook

“An essential pack for D&Tteachers to understandsustainability issues, runexciting lessons and encouragestudents to develop innovativedesigns that help to make theworld a better place.”Global Dimensions website

and Wales alone now have access toPractical Action’s thinking aboutsustainable design and consumption.


However good or relevant a bookmay be, it is of no use if the people itwill benefit cannot afford to buy it.

This is where Practical ActionPublishing’s book voucher schemescome in. In partnership with otherNGOs, we provide the funds forselected organisations in developingcountries to receive much neededpublished resources free of charge.Practical Action Publishing has been

able to supply over 20,000 booksand journals free of charge tolibraries and resource centres indeveloping countries over theyears, thanks to this scheme. In2007/8 some 6,000 books weredespatched.

The gift of knowledge

Books provide a vital resource for education

PracticalA

ction/Georgina

Cranston


Promoting agricultureat a human scaleThe United Nations and the WorldBank sponsored an InternationalAssessment of AgriculturalKnowledge, Science andTechnology for Development(IAASTD). This scientific,evidence-based assessment is awake up call to humanity. Thestark conclusion is that unlessagriculture, and the way societyrelates to food, agriculture,livestock production and fisheries,is fundamentally changed, it willnot be possible to feed theprojected 9 billion worldpopulation, ensure equity andsustain the planet.

Practical Action was one of onlysix NGOs worldwide on thegoverning body of this assessment.The reports, now approved by 58governments including the UK, arethe result of four years of rigorousevidence gathering and analysis by400 scientists from all regions ofthe world.

It provides substantial scientificanalysis that concurs with PracticalAction’s experience. Agriculturalinstitutions, policy, research anddevelopment must be radically

Growing pumpkins on sandbarsprovides food for the poorestcommunities in Bangladesh

PracticalA

ction/IqbalH

ossain

transformed, it concludes, towardssupporting smaller-scale, moreagroecological production if futuregenerations are to be fed in ways thatdo not damage the environment. Inshort, IAASTD supports foodsovereignty, which increases peoples’control over localised food systems.These provide not only healthy food but also secure livelihoods and vital ecosystems.

With improved water management, vegetable gardens can provide nutritious food forfamilies in Zimbabwe

PracticalA

ction/Desm

ondK

awanda

Please accept my gift of:

Yes, I’ll help find practical answers to povertyI would like to make a donation

£10 £25 £50 Or my own amount £

I enclose my cheque / postal order / charity voucher made payable to Practical Action

I wish to pay by MasterCard / Visa / Maestro / Charity card (Please delete as applicable)

Card Number (Maestro only)

Valid from: / Expiry Date: /

Issue no: (Maestro only)

Please send me more information On how to make a regular gift

Title: First name:

Surname:

Address:

Postcode:

Telephone No:

Email:

If you are happy to be contacted by telephone and/or email with updates on projects, campaigning andfundraising, please provide your contact details; you can unsubscribe at any time.

Good News! Your gift could now be worth 25% extra through reclaimed tax.Tick here and we will send you a simple form

Registered Charity No. 247257 VA/01

fold

Moi

sten

and

seal

here

Moisten and seal hereM

oistenand

sealhere

Just complete and return this form to us by folding and sticking the edges together.

To give by phone please call our donation hotline on: 0800 3891624

About Practical Action’s work

On leaving a legacy to Practical Action

fold

(9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. 24 hour message service available 7 days a week).

Data Protection Act 1998 – Practical Action holds any details you give us for administration and marketingpurposes as a Data Controller. If you do not wish to receive any further information or updates from us atPractical Action please write to the Data Controller at the address shown. We would like to share yourinformation from time to time with organisations we think you might be interested in. If you would ratheryour name was not included please tick this box . We will never supply your information to a third partyfor marketing purposes if you tell us not to.

Supporter Services UnitPractical ActionThe Schumacher Centre for Technologyand Development FREEPOST CV1753RugbyWarwickshireCV23 9BR

Prac

tica

lA

ctio

nB

angl

ades

h

Sowing seeds in a floating garden in Bangladesh

Summary of Income and Expenditure 2007/8

The Schumacher Centre for Technology and Development, Bourton on Dunsmore, Rugby, Warwickshire, CV23 9QZ, UKT +44 (0)1926 634400 | F +44 (0)1926 634401E [email protected] | W www.practicalaction.orgPractical Action Ltd Company Reg. No 871954, England | Reg. Charity No. 247257 | VAT No. 880 9924 76Patron HRH The Prince of Wales, KG KT, GCBCover Image: Tree seedlings flourish in a community nursery in Darfur, Sudan © Practical Action/Awadalla Hamed

Printed on Cyclus paper. 100% recycled post-consumer waste.

Financially it is has been good year for Practical Action with income again above£20m and spending on operational charity programmes increasing by 5%.

Donations £8.6 (41%)

Trust and companies £1.3 (6%)

Government institutions & NGOs£9.3 (44%)

Subsidiaries: Consultancy & Publishing£1.4 (7%)

Other £0.4 (2%)

Operational programmes £16.4 (79%)

Fundraising £2.7 (13%)

Statutory management & administration £0.3 (1%)

Subsidiaries: Consultancy &Publishing £1.4 (7%)

0

5

10

15

20

25

14.0

72

13.8

25

13.6

75

15.0

91

17.3

82

22.4

13

21.0

40

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Total Yearly Income £m

Income £m Expenditure £m

Documents

Drip irrigation ensures a better crop for farmers in Nepalcdn1.practicalaction.org/a/n/4d927c81-24bc-482f-ba69-11792e33baf9.pdf · Chambamontera The community ... scheme capable of